If we are to believe the survey published this month by Sanofi Canada, 55% of Canadian workers suffer from a chronic disease or the consequences of a serious injury. This surely explains why workplace health expectations are high. Requests are highest for information and support. As a result, 61% of workers who have not yet used their employer’s health system expect that their company will provide a great deal of support, should they need it. Only 47% of the respondents who have had to navigate the maze of public and private health systems say they have received good quality assistance from their employer.

Vaccination clinics, health screening…

Another point emphasized in this study was the importance of health promotion programs. According to the results obtained, 81% of participants in a health system and 90% of employers say that these programs are essential for long term maintenance of a sustainable public health system. Along the same lines, 74% of workers would like to be able to take advantage of public health programs such as influenza vaccination clinics, disease screening or health risk assessments at their workplace. 88% of them also say that they would participate in health screening programs (about a problem they are worried about) if they had access to it at their workplace.

Employers quite open

In this sense, employees seem to be more open than in the past that their company cares about their health. This is good because employers also appear to be determined to develop their public health programs. Again according to Sanofi Canada, 91% of plan sponsors say they would be willing to set up vaccination clinics provided they are supported by the government or public health services. Close to 9 companies out of 10 also say they are prepared to set up a disease risk screening and chronic disease prevention program under the same conditions.